Made history and qualified for the Conference League quarter-finals with a legendary upset against Maccabi Tel Aviv The Olympic!
The “red and whites” presented their best competitive face in Serbia, managing to erase the very heavy defeat they experienced at “Georgios Karaiskakis” thanks to the goals of Pontense (10′), Fortune (36′) and El Kaabi (45’+3′, 65′) and completing the epic upset at extensionwhen the Jovetic (93′) and El Arabi (103′) formed the final 1-6giving Olympiakos the historic qualification!
In the mind of the coaches
THE Jose Luis Mendilibar chose the 4-3-3, with Tzolakis taking the place of Paschalakis under the posts, Rodinei and Ortega starting at the two ends of the defense, while Karmos and Retsos were duo in the stoppers. Ese, Ciquinho and Horta formed the trio in the axis, with Fortunis on the right wing of the attack, Pontense on the left and El Kaabi as center forward.
On the other hand, Mr Robbie Keane he chose the same system (4-3-3) and lined up the same eleven he had chosen a week ago at “Georgisos Karaiskakis”. Mispati started as goalkeeper, with Sahar at right back, Revivo at left and Nahmias, Saborit as the two stoppers. Van Overeim, Peretz and Kanichovski started on the axis, while Davida and Milson were the two wings, behind Zahavi.
The match
Olympiacos showed its… wild moods from the start, with Orta to threaten Mispati’s goal before half a minute had passed, with his long-range shot deflected off a defender and into the corner. In the 9th minute he was very active from the beginning Pontense cross from the left, with Nahmias heading away in front of him El Kaabiwhile later in the phase Horta shot high out.
Finally, Mr Olympic turned his superiority into a lead in the 10′. When the Pontense broke into the Maccabi box with an individual effort and shot between two defenders, with Mispati making contact with the ball but unable to prevent the goal as the ball hit the right crossbar and into the net!
In the 14th minute, one of the leaders in the first match, Milsonwas injured and replaced by Beaton, while Olympiacos threatened again in the 25th minute, when after a wonderful partnership Pontense with Ortega from the left, the latter made the swerving turn, but Mispati instinctively parried it on his move El Kaabi. In the 26th Orta put in a nice cross but El Kaabi failed to find the ball properly on the move, with the Maccabi keeper making an easy block.
Olympiacos continued to dominate, circulating the ball in their opponent’s half, finding their second goal in the 36th minute, when Pontense stole the ball in the center from the careless Sahar and produced a wonderful pass to Fortunewho emerged victorious in the tete-a-tete with Mispati, “executing” him with flawless placement.
In the 44th minute, the Olympiakos captain laid on Podense, with the Portuguese shooting high from the edge of the area and under pressure from two defenders, while in the 45th minute, Horta raced into the small area, before being cut down by Nahmias. The ideal first half of the “red and white” ended with Pontense to make a wonderful cross to the second post from the left and with El Kaabi to “write” 0-3 with a nailed header, equalizing the score of the first match!
The image of the match did not change even with the return of the two teams from the locker room, with Olympiakos having the initiative of the movements, circulating the ball in the opponent’s half. In the 50th minute, Rodinei played a 1-2 with Fortounis and entered the area, but his shot was cut off at the last moment, while Maccabi, in its first… visit to the “red and white” area, received a penalty, with Retzo to overturn him with a brash tackle Kanichowski. THE Zahavi he executed well, low into the right corner of Tzolakis, giving the Israelis a qualifying lead again in the 57th minute.
However, the Olympic quickly overcame the shock, managing to equalize the qualification battle again eight minutes later (65′), with Ortega to make a great cross with him too El Kaabi to send the ball into the net with improbably turnedscoring his second personal goal of the night and setting it up 1-4!
In the 68th Pontense he found space, made the run and shot from long range, high over the posts, with the pace dropping afterwards. In 77′, Maccabi threatened when o Perez found himself unmarked in the heart of the Olympiakos defense, but his header went narrowly wide, while the “red and whites” had a great chance to take the qualification in the 90’+3′, when El Arabi made a beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to Jovetic and with the Montenegrin sending the ball just past the right post, from a very advantageous position. 1-4 did not change and the game was led to extension.
Just three minutes into the extra half-hour, Pontense was fouled just outside the box and wide to the left, with Fortune to execute with power inside the bodies and with the ball ending up in the Jovetic, who sent the ball into the net, giving Olympiakos a qualifying lead! Maccabi tried to react immediately, taking the ball at their feet, but it was Olympiacos who “struck” again in the 103′ when, after a wonderful pass from Ese, Masouras he got past the keeper and served it up 1-6 to the upcoming El Arabiwho essentially “locked” the big qualification for Olympiakos!
MVP: THE Pontense probably his best game in the Olympiakos jersey. Active from the first until the 102nd minute, when he was substituted, the Portuguese was a constant source of danger for Maccabi’s defence, scoring the first goal in the 10th minute and providing two assists to Fortouni and El Kaabi.
The whistle: The Italian Maurizio Mariani, controlled the game well, without facing any particular problems. Close to the stages, he correctly awarded the penalty in favor of Maccabi after Retsu’s clumsy tackle.
Olympiakos (Jose Luis Mendiliber, 4-3-3): Tzolakis – Rodinei (106′ Kini), Retsos, Carmo, Ortega – Ese, Ciquinho, Horta (82′ Jovetic) – Fortunis (95′ Masouras), El Kaabi (88′ El Arabi), Pontense (102′ Ibora).
Maccabi Tel Aviv (Robbie Keane, 4-3-3): Mispati – Sahar (91′ A. Cohen), Nahmias, Saborit, Revivo (113′ Davinjada) – Van Overeim (74′ Turgeman), Peretz, Kanichovski – Davinda, Zahavi (108′ G. Cohen), Milson (14′ Bitton ).
The Live of sport-fm.gr
Source: Sport Fm
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